ISLAMABAD: China and Pakistan have agreed to take concrete measures to address trade imbalances, said a joint statement during the visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to China on Sunday.

The joint statement envisages strengthening China-Pakistan All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership, and building closer China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future in the new era

It said that at the invitation of China Premier Li Keqiang, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan paid his first official visit to China on November 2-5, 2018.

During the visit the two sides noted the growing volume of bilateral trade and agreed to take concrete measures to address trade imbalance. “These would include exchange of trade missions, broadening market access for agricultural and ICT products, and simplifying customs, quarantine and phytosanitary procedures,” it said.

In this context, the two sides agreed to conclude the second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement as early as possible, and continue discussions on the Pakistan-China Agreement on Trade in Services.

The two sides agreed to strengthen economic cooperation by fully leveraging the existing cooperative arrangements such as China-Pakistan Business Council, which is composed of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), and those between Industry and Stock Exchanges of the two countries.

The two sides agreed to hold the next round of the Joint Economic Commission early next year.

The two sides attached importance to friendly cooperation between the People’s Bank of China and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

They expressed satisfaction at the operationalization of the currency swap agreement and reaffirmed the need to further strengthen cooperative ties of financial and banking sectors between the two countries.
Both sides noted with satisfaction that Chinese and Pakistani banks have operations in both countries.

Follow us

PKRevenue.com is an independent portal of multiple source for economic and financial updates across Pakistan as well as the globe. The website focuses on micro- and macro-economic issues. The primary topics discussed here included: finance, taxes, money and banking, commerce, money market and equity market etc.